The defendant, then 16, pinned his niece, 13, to his bed at a Sunshine home in 1981, following a game of "chasey".

He tickled the girl before raping her.

She was "bloody, sore and frightened" afterwards and told her about mother about the abuse.

The girl's mother then threatened to kill the boy if he ever touched her again.

The man, now 56, was handed a two-year wholly suspended sentence in the Victorian County Court on Wednesday.

This means while he is free to go home immediately, his sentence could be re-imposed if he was found guilty of any other offences in the time period.

He had earlier pleaded guilty to sexually penetrating a child aged between 10 and 16 years.

The sentencing judge said there was no evidence of premeditation or planning, no major age gap between the children and no breach of trust despite the boy being the girl's uncle.

But he added that the abuse was serious and caused physical pain and psychological damage.

"Offending of this kind has been shown to ruin the life of the victim," the judge told the court.

"Not a day goes by where the complainant does not continue to suffer what you did to her."

The judge said the convicted man was a "troubled child" at the time of the offence, having been sexually abused himself between the age of eight and 11 years old.

He also said the man, who received a sentence reduction for his early guilty plea, had good chances of rehabilitation and was very unlikely to re-offend.

Australian Associated Press